Good news on the display front. Sharp and Semiconductor Energy Laboratory have jointly developed a new oxide semiconductor that promises screens with higher resolutions, lower power consumption, and narrower bezels. The tech adds a crystalline structure to an oxide semiconductor that would otherwise be amorphous. The end result is smaller thin-film transistors with higher performance, according to Sharp's press release.

What sort of displays will this new crystalline oxide enable? Sharp has a couple of LCD prototypes, including a 6.1" screen that serves up a whopping 2560x1600 pixels—the same resolution as a 30" desktop monitor. There are ...